King Peter the Magnificent
by IceAngel7
Summary: A Driad flew past me, almost knocking me to the ground. "In the name of Aslan," she shrieked, "run for your lives!" . A short fic with Peter's POV Chapter1 - Peter's first battle


~KING PETER THE MAGNIFICENT~  
  
by IceAngel  
  
SUMMARY CHAPTER 1 - Set during 'the lion the witch and the wardrobe' - chapter 12 - peter's first battle. Designed as a deeper look into the mind of Peter during this chapter.   
  
DISSCLAMER - All characters, events and golden lions belong to C.S. Lewis. Also, much inspiration has come from the TV dramitisations of the first 4 Narnia books which were produced when I was only about three years old - but which I still adore - They are a great tribute to the works of Lewis and a fantasic adaptaion.   
  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Cair Paravel. A beautiful name for a wondrous place. Settled in a cove on the bay where the sun, just sinking below the horizon, shinned upon its white walls and turrets. The water shimmered with golden sunlight, and yet brighter still was the golden body of Aslan beside me.  
  
An amazing presence the great lion permeated, calming, magical and yet action inspiring all at the same time. There was no mistake as to him being named the true King.   
  
"Cair Paravel of the four thrones," Aslan began in his slow, rumbling voice that seemed to shake the very earth we stood upon. "I show it to you because you are the first born and will be High King over all the rest."  
  
I smiled slightly as he thought back. In our childhood when all three of my siblings had joined together in a game of Kings and Castles. I was the great warrior, holding high my wooden sword, as proudly as the way the sword of Narnia rested now in my hand. Lucy was my second in command, always especially fond of my younger sister, I would allow her to fight by my side, and how proud she always was. Susan, much against her will, was forced to be the princess in need of rescuing. And had to wait until her elder brother and younger sister defeated the evil tyrant until she could quit the game and go back to playing something much safer, hide and seek for instance. The evil tyrant, well, I thought, not without irony it was Edmund who had delighted in playing the one who had taken the princess captive, the one who had betrayed his country.  
  
I looked down at the sword in my hand, it seemed heavy at that moment and I wondered whether the parts we were destined to play were pre-ordained from birth. I had no doubt that it was my place to sit in the highest throne in the castle by the see and set Narnia back to rights. No, it was Edmund who worried me. Would he really have told the Witch everything? Surely there was something in him of loyalty to us, his own brother and sisters.   
  
Aslan gave a low growl behind me and I jumped, hearing for the first time a faint waning note on the breeze.   
  
"It is your sister's horn," Aslan said. It took me a long moment to understand but even when I realised I could not make my body move.   
  
"Go to her son of Adam." And with his voice urging me on, I turned and sprinted back into the trees, preying my hesitation had not been paid for with the loss of life.   
  
I almost stopped when I came to the edge of the clearing, there was panic and screaming all around me and I was yet to see from whence the danger came.  
  
A Driad flew past me, almost knocking me to the ground. "In the name of Aslan," he shrieked, "run for your lives! It is a creature of the white lady, the grey wolf! Run! Run!"  
  
I saw Lucy running towards me, her face white as the snow that had lain upon Narnia. She was terrified, I had never seen her look so scared, it was almost worse than when we had been told of Edmund's betrayal. My eyes travelled instinctively over her shoulder, looking for my other sister.   
  
With horror I saw that Susan was no where near Lucy, and worse, she was alone in the centre of the clearing with no one to help her. She was running away from something out of my sight, and as I drew closer to her foot struck a stone and she fell forwards. I wasted no time in coming to her aid, though her shrieks were enough to make me fear what was chasing her. I did not need to draw my sword, for it was already in my hand. I turned to face the oncoming danger and saw a gigantic grey beast. I first believed it to be a bear, but its slick form and thin shape dispelled that idea.   
  
It gazed at me, its horrible yellow eyes glinting and its sharp teeth dripping with what seemed very much like blood. My heart thudded in my chest and I felt sick. I heard Susan scrambling away behind me and taking a breath, I lunged forwards at the creature.   
  
My sword struck nothing but air and as the creature pulled swiftly away, I saw at once that it was a wolf. But no ordinary wolf, for as it sprang towards me, it changed somehow, growing longer and more upright. A werewolf, the things nightmares are made of, reached its sharp claws for my heart.   
  
I don't know how I did it, perhaps it was Lucy's scream, or the feeling that Aslan was watching, I do not know, but my sword moved upwards and the grey skin of the wolf was soon soaked red with its own blood. The world around me changed in that moment, the sky became a sickening crimson and all those watching disappeared from view. The werewolf's body was pressed against my own and his blood soaked through my shirt as I tried to wrench the blade from his heart. It was as though he was both alive and dead, for I could have sworn I felt his burning breath upon my face, and yet the heavy weight upon me was that of a dead thing.   
  
At last my sword came free and I pulled away at once, leaving the grey body upon the grass. The sky returned to its cerulean blue and the world at once seemed bright, as though a shadow upon it had been cast away.  
  
"Friends of Narnia, make haste!" Aslan's strong voice broke through the cheers and shouts of the Narnian creatures at Peter's victory. "There is another wolf among the bushes, who has just darted away. He will be going to his mistress. Now is your chance to rescue the forth son of Adam!" The pegasus, the stags, the eagles and many others flew or galloped away.  
  
I felt Susan's hand upon my shoulder and followed her gaze to the blood upon my shirt. "It is not mine," I told her, and smiled as I saw her features relax.  
  
"Son of Adam," Aslan's voice said, and I turned to find him before me. "Son of Adam," he repeated. And there was something of dismay in his voice. "You have forgotten to clean your sword!"  
  
Indeed it was true, I felt my cheeks grow hot as I looked down at the red stain upon my blade. I kneeled, wiping the flat of the sword along the grass until it was shining again. I reached for my coat and dried the blade upon it.  
  
"Hand it to me and kneel, son of Adam," Aslan said slowly, almost proudly. I did so, with a great feeling that something revolutionary was about to happen. I knelt before my King and felt the flat of the blade upon my shoulder, so real, so different to the many times Edmund and I had repeated the same act in play. Edmund, he should have been kneeling here beside me, sharing this honour. But he was not, and this was my day. Peter the High King, how right it sounded, and yet because of my brother, it was still a distant dream.   
  
"Rise, Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane. And, whatever happens, never forget to wipe your sword."   
  
  
~~~~~  
  
  
  
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed that, and hope as well that people won't kill me for changing the 'climbing the tree' scene which I felt would be impossible to write convincingly from this POV.  
  
I am hoping to do four of these stories, 'if there is any interest' (one for each of the children) with three of four chapters in each - portraying their feelings at important stages in their Narnia adventures.  
  
So first, please let me know if you read this and liked, or didn't like how it was done.   
Second, if you have any favourite bits (for any of the four) that you'd like me to write on, I'd love some recommendations on which bits are most significant, eg. Lucy - Finding Mr Tumnus again in the witch's castle. Thanks so much for reading.  
  
IceAngel :D 


End file.
